


Flock Wisely

by Tht0neGal666



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (2018)
Genre: Dickie will die for his brothers, F/M, Gen, I need more content for Gaslight, Street Kids, Victorian Slang, also cursing, batfam, batfamily, carnie slang, cause Jay, come on guys, lots of slang no one will get, obviously, rawr, street accents, who thought this would be a good idea
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-05-02
Packaged: 2019-04-30 01:11:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14485524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tht0neGal666/pseuds/Tht0neGal666
Summary: Surprisingly, telling a bunch of paranoid street kids that they belong to the guy they watched break a man's arm a week ago without informing them prior to is not the best idea Alfred Pennyworth has ever had.Then again, it wasn't really the worst either.





	1. Dickie (1)

**Author's Note:**

> whats that? Batman Ninja came out? I should watch that and write about that?
> 
> but then who would write the Victorian Street Urchin AU that the fandom is ignoring? Cause someone's gotta. and I'm gonna. 
> 
> les go.

Dickie couldn’t sleep.

This wasn’t anything new, really. He often had trouble sleeping, all three of them did sometimes. But, tonight especially, he knew he wouldn’t be getting a wink. Lil' Tim had fallen asleep in his arms in the carriage on the way back from the fire, shaking a little from the cold and the tail-ends of the adrenaline of the night. Poor thing was taxed from their escapade, and had a full meal in his stomach for the first time in ages. Jay, bless him, had been struggling not to fall asleep the entire ride back, and Dickie watched as the ginger dug his nails into his skin to stay awake when The Bat wasn’t looking. Jay was scared out of his mind, and hiding it nearly as well as Dickie himself was. He didn’t even protest when Dickie grabbed one of his hands and squeezed it a little. Waiting for a small nod from his brother, he scooted over to Jay and pressed a small blade into the kids hand in hopes that the familiar weight would serve as a proper compromise to get him to sleep a bit. Jay blinked a few times, clearly thinking it over as he glared at the bat out of the corner of his eye, before he puffed in resignation and rested his head on Dickie’s shoulder. 

The dead weight of Jay’s head pressed Dickie’s boney shoulder down uncomfortably and the way Lil' Tim was snuggling him had the same arm asleep, pinned between the two of them now. Not that Dickie minded. The closer he was to his brothers right now, the better. Tonight could still go horribly wrong, and he fingered the spare blade and half full matchbox in his pocket cautiously with his one free arm. He had given the good knife to Jay, bit they would do in a pinch. He kept his eyes flitting between The Bat and Miss Kyle and Mister Pennyworth the entire ride, a showman's grin plastered to his face with practiced ease. He mostly sang quiet songs with Miss Kyle, as a way to seem interested in interacting with them while also stopping them from asking any real questions. 

It worked, all the way back to what looked like an entire towns worth of space in one building, and he took a deep breath. He tapped Jay once to wake him up, then waited a second for his breathing to change. Then he tapped the boy again, three times, and squeezed the hand holding the blade he was gifted earlier. ‘Follow my lead, stay quiet, be ready to run.’. Jay just rolled his eyes and shrugged in an ‘obviously, ya foozler’ way, yawning to alert The Bat he was awake. Dickie huffed in mock offence and tugged at Jay’s hair playfully, deftly avoiding any retaliation by hopping a step back. They both gave tiny smiles at the easy teasing before Jay nodded to him and Dickie turned to face The Bat, Showman’s grin lodged back into place. 

“Whacha wan us ta do, Mista Bats?” Dickie asked, making eye contact with the towering man while absently adjusting his hold on Lil' Tim, holding him against his hip with one still-half-asleep-and-prickly-arm while the other was shoved into his pocket. He heard Jay shuffle up and stand a bit back to his arm holding Lil' Tim, and could almost feel the boy struggle not to glare at The Bat. The thought danced as a flicker of amusement that was much welcome in batting back the fear festering over the situation. Nothing good is ever free, and what Mister Pennyworth had offered earlier was far to good.

The Bat looked over them, but didn’t really respond to the question as he got out of the carriage, taking Miss Kyle’s hand in his to help her out as well. In that time alfred had moved to hold open the half-door to the carriage, which Dickie found entirely unnecessary. They didn’t realize they were supposed to get out of the cart themselves until Mister Pennyworth cleared his throat.

“Well lads, come along now, We haven’t got all night.” He hummed in a perfectly posh english accent and raised a single eyebrow at the three boys. With a start, Dickie nodded, grabbing the cuff of Jay’s shirt and pulling him behind him out of the carriage, mummering a sheepish apology and he reaching his spare arm up to scratch at his head seemingly self-consciously. Jay avoided eye contact, which was as close to an apology as anyone was likely to get from the boy at the moment, so Dickie gave an embarrassed laugh to top it all off, spare arm dropping back to his pocket to fiddle absently with the matches. 

Alfred nodded as he closed the door to the carriage, walking them towards what looked like a pretty well kept stable-house. Well staying there wouldn’t be so bad, he mused, they’d definitely had worse, and animals were always a comfort he welcomed. The tension in his shoulders relaxed minisculely, and Jay seemed to reach the same conclusion as he heard a relieved breathe from behind his side. 

However, they had barely walked a dozen steps when The Bat called out to them.

“Boys, where are you three going?” The man asked, sounding bewildered, and the pair of them cringed in unison, tension creeping back with double the force as Lil' Tim snored peacefully. Alfred startled as well, looking surprised to see the three boys trailing after him as he led the horse to the stables. Dickie took great care to keep any guilt or nervousness from his face as he spun to face The Bat and a frowning Miss Kyle. The movement jostled Lil’ tim a bit, and he patted the sleeping boy’s head in apology without even looking down. 

“We was just followin’ mista pennyworth, sir. Didn’t mean nothin by it, but ‘cha didn’t tell us what ta do, so we just followed is all.” He recapped, seeing Jay nod rapidly beside him. He layed a gentle hand on Jay’s forearm to stop him from forming the fist he was bound to make with how worked up he was getting. The boy was like a coiled band, and Dickie just hoped he could keep the boy from snapping until the three of them were alone. 

The Bat didn’t seem angry, anyway, which was good, and neither did the other adults, so he had to be doing something right, even if he felt like he was setting them up for failure. He looked unsure, which would be a funny look on The Bat any other time. He glanced at Mister Pennyworth before looking back at them and frowning a little which...could be bad, but might not be. He was nothing if not optimistic. It could be not bad.

“I see. Would you three please follow me into the manor then?” The Bat requested, though nothing was ever really a request with the man, before turning back to Miss Kyle, who was oddly quiet, and continuing the walk to the manor. He and Jay shared a look before turning to Mister Pennyworth for confirmation, being met with that same raised eyebrow and a quick but polite shooing motion that had them both nodding and walking up the cobblestone path to the towering monster of a house. He could hear Jay gulp at the sight of the dark manor, and comfortingly squeezed the boy’s hand for a moment. They had been down streets that were shorter then the lead-up to the manor, and their legs felt a little like Cox Gelatin by the time they reached the door. Dickie knocked on it uncertainly, staring at the solid wood awkwardly and looking around the porch. It was probably best to sit and wait to be let in, so that's what they did, practicing Hand-Speak for fun while they waited, because Dickie’s was still shakey at best, and Jay took pride in his ability to pick things like this up. It was a comfort he was eager to give the younger, even if they had to focus on one-handed words because of the bab occupying Dickie’s other arm. 

The door opened silently a few minutes later, when they were perfecting complimenting someone’s hair, and the boys almost didn’t even notice the man. Dickie’s eyes widened and he beraded himself a bit as he not so subtly stepped in front of Jay, lips stretching back in place while his hand abandoned the gesture it was making by settling on his hip, and he had to avoid biting his lip, least he lose his winning smile. 

The Bat stepped out of the door, gesturing for them to come inside, and it seemed that Mister Pennyworth had nearly caught up as well, as he entered a handful of paces behind them. Miss Kyle was nowhere in sight, she must have been shown to a room befitting a lady who just stopped a crazy murderer. He was a bit bitter he didn’t get to batty fang the bastard himself. Mister Gordon well deserved it, Dickie thought. 

The boys stood out of the door way, a bit to the left, but didn’t dare take a step further into the house. They were horribly out of their element, and they knew it, but they didn’t know what to do about it. If there was anything they Could do about it. Jay, somehow, tensed up even furthur, and Dickie was upset he couldn’t do more then send Jay a comforting glance at the moment, while he watched The Bat. 

What were they supposed to be doing right not?

“Alfred, escort the boys to the rooms I presume you have already prepared?” The Bat grumbled, sounding oddly resigned. His hand twitched like he was resisting a tick, and Dickie bit the inside of his cheek, unsure what to make of how The Bat was acting. At the very least, he wasn’t angry, so they should be fine for now. Probably. Jay relaxed a bit at his side, clearly preferring dealing with the older man over The Bat. Thats fair. Dickie could second the notion. 

“Of course, Sir. Young ones, if you would follow me.” The butler nodded, almost in dismissal, to The Bat, drawing a smirk from Jay as they turned away from the imposing man. After a moment of thinking it over, Dickie nodded at Jay once, who was staring at him expectantly. Jay rolled his eyes, as if to deny that he was waiting for permission in the first place, before starting to chat with Mr.Pennyworth. Dickie held onto his hand and let Jay pay attention to where alfred was going and lead the way, while Dickie tried to remember the layout of the fortress they were led through. 

Finally, they stopped in front of three large doors right next to each other. The doors were all identical, solid wood with what looked like and very well may be solid gold handles. They had black door-frames with weird flowery designs carved into them, and Dickie couldn’t help wonder what would happen if they were set on fire as he gripped the matchbox in his pocket. Shaking his head from the thought, his empty hand shot out of his pocket like it was burned, and he turned to Mister Pennyworth, waiting for direction. When none was forthcoming, he spoke up. 

“Uh, mistah? Where dya wan’ us ta go?” Dickie asked, staring up at the old man.

“Into your rooms, young sirs, which I have presented you with.” Alfred returned patiently.

“..these rooms? Right here?” Dickie marveled, turning to look at them with something between awe and fear. He looked to Jay, who had a similar look on his face, and gave a small sigh, spinning back to Alfred and hoping this wouldn’t get him in trouble. Surel asking for less isn’t disrespectful? He wouldn’t know, he never even thought about going after less then it was possible to get.

“Well sir, Mistah Pennyworth, it wouldn’t be quite fair to pick out rooms when Lil' Tim’s dead to the world. Wouldja mind if we shared one, fa now at least, sir?” He tried, thousand whatt smile up and operating. He saw Jay nod vehemently in agreement and bounce on his feet like the precious thing he hated to pretend to be, and was glad for the support. 

He’ll be damned if he let himself be separated from any more of his flock of little birds, especially his favorite little brothers. Especially in a house with more room then all of Saint Tompkin’s place, and only two people besides them to occupy it. He respected Mister Pennyworth, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t get in a clem with him to keep his brothers in his sight.

Thankfully, Mister Pennyworth nodded, and his eyes seemed to soften at their request, a kind smile he usually knew better then to trust appearing. 

“Of course, young sirs. We wouldn’t want the young one to have kittens in the morning, now would we?” He conceded, and Dickie’s smile grew genuine for the first time that night as he turned to Jay. He took off his hat and tossed it up, letting Jay call heads or tails. He called heads, and he was right, so he got to pick which room. He chose the one in the middle, seemingly on a whim, but Dickie didn’t care to fight him on it. 

They chattered thanks and goodnights over each other as they waved Mister Pennyworth off and all but ran into the room. Dickie noticed the bolt lock to keep people out, but knew better then to try closing it. Didn’t want to risk the punishment if he could help it. 

The room was massive. There were doors on the left and right connecting it to the other rooms they saw, and a door in the back of the room that led to who knows what? The room itself had an empty bookshelf, a rug, a dresser, a giant bed, a nightstand, a gaslamp, candles, various decorative trinkets even a desk with paper and quill and ink on it. Any one thing in this room could have fed them for a week. Shaking his head, he lead Jay to the gigantic bed, thankful they weren’t in their own rooms again as he laid Lil' Tim down on it. No one of them would have been able to sleep in something so big alone, it would feel too empty. 

Jay laid down carefully, as if the mattress would swallow him up, and Dickiw wasn’t entirely convinced it wouldn’t as he laid down in the middle of the two. Jay was still tense, waiting for something to go wrong, which, again, fair, cause Dickie was doing the same. But, as only those close to Dickie knew, he was a hypocritical little bugger, and his little brother needed sleep. He cuddled the boy, draping Lil' Tim over both of them, and hummed sweet melodies from another life to soothe the tiny urchin into sleeping.

Then Dickie waited, staring at the door they came in through, paying no mind as the sun rose behind the curtain to his left.


	2. Jay (1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They could do this, and their resolve doubled down when Dickie’s grin flashed in releif. They could do this. Play house with The Bat. probably. 
> 
> At the least, they could damn well try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, fair warning, I have no consistent anything ever. I'll update whenever I can, I guess.  
> Also, this is taking place around june in 1888. I find this vey important, as I am a huge NERD and may throw in some actually history for funzies.  
> While accents are fun, the extent of my exposure to them is listening to 'Gee Officer Krupkee' on repeat more often then is probably sensible, so. grain of salt, as always.  
> I'm kinda scared to write selina cause I have no clue how to, so I'm pushing her away for now, sorry. 
> 
> language warning cause. ya know. Jay.

Jay woke up as he felt Dickie tense up beside him, and that was never a good sign. A tense Dickie usually screamed ‘danger’, and it didn’t calm him any when he found he didn’t even know where he was. 

It felt like he was laying somewhere soft, really soft, the softest thing he’d felt since he got booted from the laundromat. He was also really warm, and that was even weirder. Sure, it was summer, but he was never this comfortably warm. 

So, unfamiliar bed with a worried Dickie. He wasn’t a fan of where this was going. But, no, there was no way he wouldn’t remember what happened if that was the case, and Dickie wouldn’t have let him fall asleep. Where was Lil’ Tim?

That was all besides the point, though. The point was Dickie was worried about something, which meant that there was something to worry about, so he snapped his eyes open and looked over to him, noticing the weight draped over his legs that a quick pat identified as Lil’ Tim, and that was good. At the very least, the three of them were together. He quickly looked over the other two boys and was relieved to find they didn’t have any new injuries that he could see, though that didn’t mean there weren’t any there. Dickie relaxed a little as Jay woke up, though Jay was well aware that the boy wasn’t actually relaxing, just forcing himself to so Jay Didn’t worry. Kinda had the opposite effect, but at least he was trying. Dickie was sitting up and staring forward and-Woah, where were they, it looked like a castle ripped straight out of a novel. He didn’t have time to think it through beyond that before he heard a sharp knock on the door. Even Lil’ Tim jolted awake at that, eyes wide in confusion as he moved to cling to Dickie be default, the little bugger. 

“Young sirs, will you be joining us for breakfast or are you planning to sleep in?” A dizzy-aged voice rang through the door, not demanding but expecting a response. His eyes flitted immediately to Dickie, who had that stupid dazzling grin cutting open his face on instinct, even if the door hadn’t opened. He flinched a little at the sight, wiping the look off Dickie’s face faster then it had appeared. All three of them were sitting up on the bed by now. Lil’ Tim was squeezed between him and Dickie, clinging to Jay’s arm but his head dropping onto Dickie’s shoulder. The three of them threw tense looks between them, unsure how to respond, until Lil’ Tim opened his flap.

“Breakfast, Sir?” He called out curiously, and Jay’s stomach growled involuntarily at the thought. He knew he had eaten yesterday after they did that favor with The Bat, cause the old man took them to Miss Hattie’s Bakery and told them all to pick whatever they wanted to eat. Lil’ Tim seemed to be the only one who even knew how to navigate the bakery, and it was kinda cute the way Lil’ Tim rambled directions and tips to the two of them. Him and Dickie didn’t catch a lick of what the kid had said, of course. Dickie just grabbed the biggest loaf he could find, some nutty bread, and Jay had just picked the most expensive thing they had to see what the old man would do about it. The geezer just nodded and bought the bread, while Lil’ Tim picked a fruity-cinnamon roll with a nostalgic glint in his eye that had Jay biting back questions about the kids past. Kid didn’t talk much about himself. Fair, cause none of them really did.

After that, the old man had fallen into some delusion about The Bat actually adopting them, and they saw a huge fire in the distance, and the coot had all but run out of the bakery. Jay didn’t even think he noticed the three of them scamper into the carriage behind him until they were well on their journey. Then they had received a lecture about hopping into carriages without telling people, which the three of them had ignored in favor of trying to figure out why they had followed the man in the first place. And then they- wait.

“Yes, young master. It’s an odd ritual in which occupants of the house gather to eat the first meal of the day, perhaps you’ve heard of it? Master Bruce and Miss Kyle are awaiting your arrival, but I can inform them you won’t be attending.” The voice quipped in a British accent, and oh god was that an actual thing that happened? He shot a questioning look at Dickie and noticed Lil’ Tim do the same as he arrived at the same marveling question. Dickie rolled his eyes as he tried to play off their awe and nodded to the silent question.

Holy shit. The batty old man was shooting straight with them from the start. They rescued The Bat. The World Fair bullshit burned down, apparently with that Jack The Ripper fucker in it. Good riddance. Fuck him. But, seriously, they went home to some butter up bacon mansion with The goddamn Bat. Jay couldn’t decide if he was horrified or mystified at the prospect. Just as he was keying up to say just about anything in response (perhaps a simple ‘what the fuck’ that he felt he more than earned, or maybe a ‘what's in it for you’ if he was particularly paranoid at the moment, which he was. He hadn’t quite decided what to say, to be honest, but anything was better than the tense silence), Lil’ Tim’s stomach seemed to take inspiration from Jay’s, as it growled, and Dickie’s betrayed his hunger as well. 

“A’ course, Mistah Pennyworth sir, be down in a jif! Jus’ gotta get Jay ta’ actually wake up. Don’cha worry it, give us ten minutes tops, promise sir!” Dickie chimed, making an executive decision for the three of them, and that was that. Jay was in no mood to argue with Dickie, Dickie was far too keyed up and protective to be argued with, and Lil’ Tim was hungry. But Dickie, because he was more afternoonified than any buffoon on the street gave him credit for, had gotten them ten minutes tops to talk their situation out. That alone was a godsend, cause there was some shit to work out here.

“What are we playin at, Dickie?” Lil’ Tim asked in a tiny voice, looking up to the boy for guidance. Dickie seemed to consider the situation. They were all at least ok at acting (Dickie could pull off his happy-fine-non-threat act just about anywhere at the drop of a hat and talk a leopard out of its stripes, Jay could be the perfect street rat, and Lil’ Tim, bless him, could be just about anyone.), so he had a few options. In the end, Dickie just shrugged and let out a sigh.

“Keep doin what we always do. We’re jus’ urchins to these fellas, right? Let’s keep it that way. Avoid personal questions ‘n all, ‘n don’t leave each other. We stick together, yea? See how it plays out. Find exits, if givin a chance. Don’t get into Clems.” The Eldest decided, giving a tired but real smile that made them both a little proud. The thing about Dickie was that he was always smiling, and he had real pretty smiles, so no one looked too hard at them. That is, until he trusts you enough to gift-wrap a real smile, and then you never unsee the distinction.

Lil’ Tim was nodding as soon as Dickie finished talking, perfectly at ease with the role. He seemed to relax a bit, though Jay couldn’t tell what had him upset in the first place. Jay too a sec to translate Dickie’s weird slang into street slang, and then gave a single nod. They could do this, and their resolve doubled down when Dickie’s grin flashed in relief. They could do this. Play house with The Bat. probably. 

At the least, they could damn well try.

So they gave nods to each other, and got to looking presentable. They didn’t have much they could do. They ran their hands through their hair for any big knots. They licked their fingers and rubbed dirt off of each other’s faces. They straightened out their clothes. Jay hid Dickie’s spare blade up his sleeve, Tim pocketed a sewing kit, and Dickie twirled that lighter of his for effect before pocketing it. Dickie grabbed the sack that contained most of their shared worldly possessions, shined them what they knew would be their last real smile for the rest of the day at least, and waved for them to follow him out the door.

Then dickie, in all his easy glory, stopped short with a confused frown, cause he obviously had no idea where to go. Lil’ Tim looked around the hall curiously, though not in the awe that he and Dickie had, and clung tight ti Dickie’s hand. Jay snickered at Dickie’s arrogance and grabbed his free hand, dragging them through the hallways to the front entrance, and then realized an issue. 

They had never been to the Dining Room. Shit.

“Ah, there you are, young masters. So glad to see you three awake, Master Bruce is awaiting your arrival. Please, if you would follow me.” The man offered, though it obviously wasn’t something they could refuse at this point. They followed him through the halls and, as they had Lil’ Tim’s amazing eyes mapping out the house now, Jay was free to just talk to the butler. Which was cool, cause he liked Alfie. He seemed pretty cool. 

“Wa’ bout that Selina chick?” Jay asked, looking up at Alfie as Dickie hummed quietly behind them with a frozen grin and Lil’ Tim’s eyes flitted everywhere. Alfie just shook his head at the question, raising his eyes as if to roll them.

“Miss Kyle has work to do. And, dare I say, Master Bruce will be a tad preoccupied to entertain Miss Kyle presently.” Alfie returned, and Jay frowned, cause that didn’t make much sense.

“Well if the guy doesn’t have time for her, why’s ‘e care so much ‘bout eatin with us? Ain’t ‘e busy?” Jay voiced, watching Alfie carefully. He thought alfie was pretty cool, but he still wasn’t sure where the man stood with his temper. If he was quick to anger after a few questions, he might have to watch the coot more than he had been.

“No, young master. Master Bruce is too busy for Miss Kyle because I insisted he get to know the three of you.” Alfie clarified with a weirdly sad tone, and the way he said ‘because I insisted’ sounded a lot like ‘because I said so’. That was weird. Wasn’t Alfie just the help for The Bat? He was clearly missing something. He had seen bosses interact with the help, hell he’d been the help for asshole bosses before, and the situation rarely had the worker having any control over anything the boss did. Before he got the chance to ask more, the door opened, and The Bat’s head shot up to look at them.

Well, he wasn’t The Bat right now, obviously. In fact, he almost looked like a normal rich guy, even with how tired he was. But it was weird to use The Bat’s first name like they were buddy buddy, so he wouldn’t. 

The man recognized them a moment later and smiled a smile that was at least half fake, but maybe a little real. He waved the three of them forward as Alfie disappeared, probably to grab the food, and they followed Dickie as he marched up to the table. He sat closest to The Bat, then Jay, then Lil’ Tim, all but hidden from The Bat’s sight behind the other boys. The way Dickie was sprawling out, Jay could barely be seen.

“So boys. Take a seat?” The Bat offered, waving at the cushioned seats Jay was convinced he could probably drown in with an odd tension, and Jay sighed. Today was going to be Long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~Ink's horrible attempt at a dictionary~~  
> dizzy age- vic slang. old people.  
> butter up bacon- vic slang. excessive extravagance. showing off, kinda.  
> Chuckaboo- vic slang. friendly term of endearment.  
> Clem- carnie slang. a fight.  
> afternoonified- vic slang. smart.  
> ~~~~  
> that's what I remember using here, go ahead and ask if something needs clearing up.  
> have a lovely day!


End file.
